Master (5e Class)
The Master "The unseen blade is the deadliest." ''-Zed, one of the most infamous followers of the Shadow of Death.'' Murders of crows fly overhead a large mansion estate in the dead of night, filled to the brim with knights and archers, all defending a single sleeping noble. A figure clad in dark clothing leaps from the birds, on top of a knight, breaking the skull of the knight on impact, and throwing a dagger into the throat of an archer nearby. As others hear him, he melts into the shadows of the corpses below him, and when they pass, he sneaks into the noble's room, slitting his throat with ease. The man then sprouts black wings, and heads back into the murder of crows, escaping without even a scratch. A laughing man, with a large beard and mustache, has attractive women wearing masks on both sides of him, his arms around them, holding them close. One of the two whisper to him, and he greedily smiles, lifting her mask slightly, pulling her into a kiss. As he does so, the life slowly drains from him, until he is nothing more than a shell, the woman pulling the corpse off of herself, and quickly knocks the other woman unconscious. She changes her appearance to appear completely differently than she currently did, and leaves, a smirk on her face. Masters are related to the powerful masters of martial arts, the monks, but while monks focus their knowledge of martial arts on perfecting their own bodies, masters use their training to allow them to become masters of stealth, magic called Jutsu, and assassinations. They are enigmatic by trade, skilled from training, and every last one of them are exceedingly deadly in numerous ways. Creating a Master When creating a master character, think about the clan that trained your character. Was your character born into the clan, or did they choose later in life to join it? Were they always aware that they would be shedding blood for their clan, or did they only learn this later on? Ask your GM how powerful noble families and clans are in your campaign world, and if there are any specific clans you could be a part of. Quick Build You can make a Master quickly by following these suggestions. First, put your highest ability score in Dexterity, followed by Intelligence. Second, choose the criminal or noble background. Finally, choose a longsword and 5 daggers. Class Features As a Master you gain the following class features. ; Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d8 per Master level Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + Constitution modifier per Master level after 1st ; Proficiencies Armor: Light armor Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons Tools: Poisoner's tools Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth ; Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: * (a'') a martial weapon or (''b) two shortswords * (a'') 5 daggers or (''b) a shortbow & 20 arrows * leather armor & a monster hunter's pack Table: The Master Deadly Handling Due to your training as a master, you have learned to wield most weapons with the agility others wield daggers. When wielding a melee weapon you are proficient with in one hand, and it lacks the heavy property, you may substitute your Strength modifier for your Dexterity modifier, when attacking with it. Fighting Stance Your style of fighting relates to a powerful beast of the world, with you mimicking it to supplement your own prowess. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Stance option more than once, even if you later get to choose again. Bear Stance When you use your action to make a melee weapon attack, and have at least one hand free, you can use your bonus action to shove a creature within 5 feet of yourself. Cheetah Stance You have advantage on initiative rolls, and cannot be surprised. Eagle Stance You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons. This does not stack with the Archery Fighting Style. Mantis Stance When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier. Turtle Stance As a reaction to being targeted by a weapon attack, you increase your armor class by an amount equal to your Proficiency bonus, until the start of your next turn. Chakra Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to harness the mystic energy of chakra. Your access to this energy is represented by a number of chakra points. Your master level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Chakra column of the Master table. You can spend these points to fuel various chakra features and Jutsu. When you spend a chakra point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you draw all of your expended chakra back into yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest meditating to regain your chakra points. You cannot use Chakra features if you are wearing armor that is not light, or wielding a shield. Some of your chakra features require your target to make a saving throw to resist the feature’s effects, or for you to make a spell attack. The saving throw DC and spell attack modifier is calculated as follows: * Chakra Save DC: '''8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier * '''Chakra spell attack modifier: '''your Proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier '''Jutsu Beginning at 2nd level, you unlock the ability to shape your chakra into power, called jutsu. You learn two Jutsu of your choice, of 1st level, and as you level up in the master class, you can learn more jutsu of higher levels, as shown in the Jutsu Known column of the Master table. You expend a number of chakra equal to the jutsu's level, and can cast jutsu at a higher level, to a maximum of your Maximum Jutsu Level, as shown on the Master Table. When you level up in the Master class, you can replace a Jutsu you know with a different Jutsu. When you cast a Jutsu, you do not need to provide any material components, regardless of cost. Shinobi's Shadow At 3rd level, you commit yourself to following a specific way of the master, known as emulating the shadow of those who created the ways. Choose from the Shadow of Death, the Shadow of Magic, the Shadow of Seduction, and the Shadow of the Flock, all at the bottom of this page. Your choice grants you features at 3rd, 6th, 11th, and 18th levels. Ability Score Increase When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 14th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Extra Attack Starting at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Evasion By 7th level, your instinctive agility lets you dodge out of the way of certain area effects, such as a blue dragon’s lightning breath or a fireball spell. When you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail. Burning Soul Beginning at 10th level, you can use your chakra to make yourself appear more entrancing and fearsome. As a bonus action, you can expend 1 chakra, and for the next minute, you add your Intelligence modifier to all Charisma checks you make. Unseen by All At 14th level, you are almost undetectable when you are hiding. When you fail a Stealth check, you can expend 1 chakra to reroll the check, taking the new result. Additionally, you can no longer be detected by divination magic. Nightcrawler Starting at 15th level, the night seems to let you ride on it, when you travel. When travelling for an hour or more during the night, your group's movement speed is doubled. Master Shinobi By 20th level, you have mastered the arts of the master. All of your Master features and Jutsu that expend chakra now consume 1 less chakra, to a minimum of 1 chakra spent. Shadow of Death The Shadow of Death is the most iconic of the traditional ways a master can emulate, being skilled in both a combination of skills involving the dead, and assassination. The bodies and minds of masters of the Shadow of Death are augmented to resemble those of the dead, and at your option, you can roll on the table below for a unique quirk. Assassinate Starting at 3rd level, when you choose this archetype, you are at your deadliest when you get the drop on your enemies. You have advantage on attack rolls against any creature that hasn't taken a turn in the combat yet. In addition, any hit you score against a creature that is surprised is a critical hit. False Grave Beginning at 6th level, the forces of death can be temporarily applied to yourself, to fool your foes. As a reaction to a creature attacking you, you can expend 2 chakra points to halve that damage, and appear to be dead until the start of your next turn. You lack a pulse, do not breath, and show no signs of life, but spells, such as animate dead, do not treat you as a corpse. Ghost Whisperer At 11th level, you can listen to the whispers of the dead, letting them guide you. As a 10-minute ritual in which you meditate and close your eyes, you can listen to what the dead say. All spirits and corpses within 30 feet of you while you meditate can speak to you, as though they were affected by a speak with dead spell. If a spirit was violently killed and is vengeful, you can ask it the location of its killer, which it will know if the killer is within 1 mile of itself. After using this feature, you must take a long rest before doing so again. Lethality Starting at 18th level, you become a master of instant death. When you attack and hit a creature that is surprised, it must make a Constitution saving throw against your Chakra save DC. On a failed save, double the damage of your attack against the creature. Shadow of Magic Those who follow under the route of the Shadow of Magic teach themselves to harness their Jutsu to be more concentrated and powerful, manipulating it far better than they could manipulate their own bodies. The bodies and minds of masters of the Shadow of Magic are changed to be more arcane, and at your option, you can roll on the table below for a unique quirk. Powerful Mind When you choose this archetype, at 3rd level, your mind lets you manipulate your chakra more. Your Chakra amount increases by an amount equal to your Intelligence modifier (min +1). These additional chakra points are only restored from a long rest. Manabending Starting at 6th level, you can change how your jutsu conjures up forces, to your will. When you cast a jutsu and the jutsu deals acid, cold, fire, lightning, necrotic, poison, radiant, or thunder damage, you can substitute that damage type with one other type from that list (you can change only one damage type per casting of a jutsu). Arcane Knowledge Beginning at 11th level, your mind grants you knowledge that only the most ancient spellcasters would know. You gain proficiency in the Arcana skill, if you were not already proficient, and your proficiency bonus is doubled to Arcana checks involving spells. Forbidden Jutsu By 18th level, you have tapped into the realms of jutsu that masters are not supposed to cast. You learn 3 5th level or lower spells of your choice, from any class list (they must be from the same spell list), and can cast them as Jutsu. You can change these like any other Jutsu, when you level up, and replace them with spells from the same spell list. Shadow of Seduction While an art that has been unknown to many throughout history, the Shadow of Seduction way of being a master is quite a potent one, as it feeds off of the deceptive skills of the master, and the natural lust of their targets. The bodies and minds of masters of the Shadow of Seduction tend to develop more 'attractive' traits, and at your option, you can roll on the table below for a unique quirk. Convincing Body When you choose this archetype, at 3rd level, you have learned an art of charming and seduction. You gain the Heart's Desire jutsu, which does not count as one of your jutsu known. When you cast Heart's Desire, you can choose for the creature to see you as an object of affection. Once a creature has been affected by Heart's Desire cast in this way, you cannot cast it on them in this way again. Love's True Kiss Starting at 6th level, the powers of the succubi have come to you, allowing you to drain the life of those whom you kiss. As an action, you expend 3 chakra points and kiss a creature that is grappled by you, charmed by you, willing, or incapacitated. The creature must make a Constitution saving throw, taking 3d10 psychic damage on a failed saving throw, or half on a success. You gain temporary hit points equal to the amount of psychic damage dealt. Object of Affection Beginning at 11th level, the skills you possess allow you to appear how those you attempt to seduce wish you did. As a 1-minute ritual, you can change your body to appear exactly like what a humanoid that you have spoken to for at least 10 minutes would find the most attractive. This changes your body physically, similarly to an alter self spell, and can be ended as a bonus action. Forced Friendship By 18th level, your ability to charm others transcends their own desires. You can use your action to touch an incapacitated humanoid. That creature is then charmed by you until a remove curse spell is cast on it, the charmed condition is removed from it, or you use this feature again. Shadow of the Flock Many ways that masters learn to grow and develop as masters are from ancient methods, passed down from master to student, however those that listen to the avian creatures of the world learn alternate methods, ones that only the birds can teach. The bodies and minds of masters of the Shadow of the Flock resemble that of birds, and at your option, you can roll on the table below for a unique quirk. Flying Friend When you choose this archetype, at 3rd level, one specific bird has chosen to imprint on you. Choose from the following beasts; bat, eagle, hawk, owl, raven, ''and ''vulture. A copy of that beast, made of pure darkness, constantly follows you, typically sitting on your shoulder. The beast acts on your initiative, but it cannot take any actions except for the Dash, Disengage, or Hide actions. As a bonus action, you can choose to perceive through its senses, or switch back to your own senses. While perceiving through its senses, you have darkvision with a range of 60 feet, and advantage on Perception checks relying on sight, but are unaware of your own body's. If your beast is killed, you can bring it back to life with a 1-hour ritual, in which you place either fur (for a bat) or feathers (for any other bird) in a pile, giving it a new body of darkness. Dark Strike Starting at 6th level, your flying friend can act like a weapon, and aid you in fights. As a bonus action, when your feathered friend is within 5 feet of you, you can force it to make a ranged weapon attack that uses your Dexterity modifier and Proficiency bonus, instead of its own, on a creature within 30 feet of yourself. On a hit, the creature takes necrotic damage equal to 1d10 plus your Dexterity modifier. One of Shadows Beginning at 11th level, you can choose to change your eyes to perceive the shadow realm, as a bonus action. While perceiving in the shadow realm, you see shadow monsters as their original selves, and see beasts as shadowy versions of themselves. You can communicate to beasts that are shadowy, and they can communicate with you. However, while perceiving in the shadow realm, you cannot communicate with anything that is not a shadow monster or beast, and do not understand any languages not spoken by shadow monsters. Gift of Wings At 18th level, you gain the ability to sprout a pair of black feathered wings from your back, gaining a flying speed equal to your current speed. You can create these wings as a bonus action on your turn. They last until you dismiss them as a bonus action on your turn. You can't manifest your wings while wearing armor unless the armor is made to accommodate them, and clothing not made to accommodate your wings might be destroyed when you manifest them. Jutsu The Jutsu listed below are arranged by level, in alphabetical order. If a Jutsu is exclusive to an archetype, it will list the archetype's name after the effect, in bold. 1st Level * Arctic Wolf Bite: 'Cast ''ice knife. * 'Beholder's Fog: '''Cast ''color spray. * 'Blazing Fox: '''Cast ''burning hands. * 'Caged Animal: '''Cast ''hellish rebuke. * 'Forest's Grasp: '''Cast ''entangle. * 'Hawk Tracking Strike: '''Cast ''guiding bolt. '''Shadow of the Flock. * Heart's Desire: 'Cast ''charm person. '''Shadow of Seduction. * Howler Monkey's Screech: 'Cast ''thunderwave. * 'Seeking Kunai: '''Cast ''magic missile. '''Shadow of Magic. * Turtle Shell: 'Cast ''shield. * '''Vengeance Strike: '''As a bonus action, your next weapon attack deals an extra 1d10 necrotic damage for each chakra spent on this jutsu. '''Shadow of Death. 2nd Level * Chameleon's Skin: 'Cast ''invisibility. '' * '''Forceful Flaunting: '''Cast ''enthrall. 'Shadow of Seduction. ' * 'Guardian's Blade: '''Cast ''spiritual weapon. '''Shadow of Magic. * Kitsune's Tails: 'Cast ''scorching ray. * 'Mask of Darkness: '''Cast ''darkness. 'Shadow of Death. ' * 'Nature's Barrier: '''Cast ''barkskin. * 'Polar Burst: '''Cast ''snilloc's snowball swarm. * 'Rising Gust: '''Cast ''levitate. '''Shadow of the Flock. * Shadowmeld: '''As an action, you melt into the shadow of a creature or object that is your size or larger, for up to 10 minutes. When their shadow moves, you move with it. You cannot see while in a shadow, but you can hear what the host of your shadow hears. As a bonus action, you can exit their shadow, appearing within 5 feet of the host. '''3rd Level * Back From the Grave: 'Cast ''animate dead. '''Shadow of Death. * Carapace of the Armadillo: 'As a bonus action, your Evasion feature affects all saving throws, instead of just Dexterity saving throws, for 1 minute. * '''Dimension Jumping: '''Cast ''blink. 'Shadow of Magic. ' * 'Eel's Fury: '''Cast ''lightning bolt. * 'Ifrit's Booming Anger: '''Cast ''fireball. * 'Speed of the Hunting Panther: '''Cast ''haste. * 'Spider's Sticking Limbs: '''As a bonus action, you gain the ability to move along vertical surfaces and across liquids on your turn without falling during the move, for 1 minute. * '''Thousand Knives: '''Cast ''conjure barrage. * 'Tongue of a Thousand Lies: '''Cast ''tongues. 'Shadow of Seduction. ' * 'Wings of the Fallen: '''Cast ''conjure animals. 'Shadow of the Flock. ' '''4th Level * Animal Lover: 'Cast ''dominate beast. 'Shadow of Seduction. ' * 'Bite of the Deadly Cobra: '''Cast ''blight. * 'Dart of Neutralization: '''As an action, a creature within 60 feet of yourself must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, or be incapacitated for 1 minute. * '''Flight of Freedom: '''Cast ''freedom of movement. 'Shadow of the Flock. ' * 'Hailing Maelstrom: '''Cast ''ice storm. * 'Manipulate Mana's True Form: '''Cast ''polymorph. 'Shadow of Magic. ' * 'Ocean's Blood: '''Cast ''control water. * 'Stalling Touch: '''Cast ''death ward. 'Shadow of Death. ' '''5th Level * Arrowfire from Heaven: 'Cast ''conjure volley. * 'Bitter Chill: '''Cast ''cone of cold. * 'Chains of Energy: '''Cast ''hold monster. * 'Exploding Pyre: '''Cast ''destructive wave. 'Shadow of Death. ' * 'Forced Follower: '''Cast ''dominate person. '''Shadow of Seduction. * Hand of God: 'Cast ''bigby's hand. * 'The Flock Hunts: '''Cast ''insect plague. '''Shadow of the Flock. * Unpassable Ward: 'Cast ''wall of force. '''Shadow of Magic. Multiclassing Prerequisites. To qualify for multiclassing into the Master class, you must meet these prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Intelligence 13 Proficiencies. When you multiclass into the Master class, you gain the following proficiencies: simple weapons, martial weapons, light armorCategory:Classes